KKR expands operations in Dallas

A New York real estate giant is expanding its footprint in Dallas.

KKR plans to increase its Dallas office space and potentially double its staff here, the Dallas Morning News reported. 

The investment firm began operations in Big D just a year ago, opening a real estate credit office, and it currently offices in 10,000 square feet with 29 employees at the Sterling Plaza office tower. 

The city’s talent pool, in addition to the firm’s many investments in the area, led to its increased presence in North Texas, KKR’s Lindsey Wright said.

KKR’s credit office specializes in investment property debt servicing, loan asset management and asset oversight for the company’s real estate credit business. 

The company has amassed over $2 billion in assets in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and it has financed $2 billion in real estate loans, Wright told the outlet. 

In 2021, it embarked on the five-building, 980,000-square-foot Urban District 30 industrial park in Mesquite, a suburb 20 minutes from Dallas. KKR also has acquired a $41 million, 1 million-square-foot Amazon distribution center and a 19-story, 310-unit apartment building since 2020, the outlet said.

“We feel very strongly about the investment opportunity in the DFW area and will continue to be large investors in the market there,” KKR’s Chris Lee told the outlet. 

KKR is one of the many real estate companies looking to Dallas to expand operations. Los Angeles-based the Agency opened a new Dallas branch at the Preston Commons business center earlier this year. New York-based Newmark also opened a Dallas office in 2022 upon acquisition of Open Realty Advisors and Open Realty Properties.

—Quinn Donoghue